Archives for November 2017

‘McDermott added of the Pats domination of Buffalo for the past 17 years, “I understand that’s been a part of the past, and I respect the past. It’s one day at a time, it’s building towards what we’re trying to become. They’ve been to where we’re trying to get to, and they’ve been there for a long time.”’

‘The Pats haven’t lost a meaningful game to the Bills in the second half in the Brady era. The one loss came in the 2014 finale, when the Patriots had wrapped up home field in the playoffs and rested several starters. Brady played a half. The win certainly wasn’t heroic enough to stop Doug Marrone from walking off the job as Bills coach three days later.’

‘For Jones, the unexpected positive publicity has been a nice way to symbolize his progress this season, countering the discussion of his struggles and dropped passes that were weekly talking points during a rough start to his rookie season.’

‘The injury news isn’t as promising for left tackle Cordy Glenn, who didn’t practice again Wednesday and doesn’t look to be any closer to returning to the lineup. Coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday the team does not have a timetable on when – or if – Glenn will return, which is a departure from the “day to day” designation he had previously used.’

‘”When I was approached last year – knowing I wasn’t going to be there, all that type of stuff – and I was told to bench Tyrod Taylor, I’m like, there’s no way. I’m not doing it,” Ryan said. “So you might as well fire me now because I’m not doing it. And I thought it was the wrong move, it sent the wrong message to the locker room – we’re not going to play him because we’re out of it, but it’s OK to play you. How’s that guy going to feel? Well, they went out and got beat by the Jets’ JV team.”‘

‘Yeah, injury-wise, all these guys, for the most part are day-to-day. Starting with Kelvin; Cordy, really no timetable on Cordy, he’s the one exception at this point, really no timetable, he continues to work through it. Having said that, Mike Tolbert, Nick O’Leary, Eddie Yarbrough and John Miller, all day-to-day and will not practice today. Limited will be Jordan Matthews and Charles Clay.’

‘Like I said, they’re just very sound and disciplined in the things they do; give you multiple looks, but you can count on those guys being in the right place at the right time. You’ve got to be able to sustain drives and put up points, finish with 7’s of course, because their offensive side puts up a bunch of points week in and week out.’

‘When he came to Buffalo in the trade that sent cornerback Ronald Darby to Philadelphia during training camp, Matthews was looked upon as a player who would help offset the departure of Sammy Watkins who, that same day, was dealt to the Rams. Instead, he has been a vast disappointment as he has just 24 catches for 268 yards and a touchdown in nine games for Buffalo.’

‘”Anything in Buffalo for real,” Gronkowski said. “Everyone’s always like, ‘Well, what’s the spot?’ Tell you the truth, everyone always says Duff’s or Anchor Bar, but I’ve never even been to Duff’s in my life. It’s crazy. So I actually want to try Duff’s wings. Anywhere in Buffalo you can go down there. I usually go to Amherst Ale House, but anywhere in Buffalo you can go to the corner store and they always have good wings. And good blue cheese. The blue cheese is crucial, too.”‘

‘”That’s all that kept coming through my head, thinking about my ACL,” Benjamin said Wednesday. “I didn’t hear a pop so that made me feel a little good about it. Then I was able to walk off the field, so that made me feel good about it too.”‘

‘”That’s why I wake up at three o’clock in the morning,” McDermott said. “They do a great job with building their football team, whether it’s through the draft or late free agency signings. They find pieces that fit what they’re trying to do and they’re very strategic. Nick Caserio I know well, does a great job on the personnel side. And then their coaching staff does a phenomenal job. Obviously it’s led by one of the greats of all time.”‘

‘”This is really a Buffalo team that is playing well,” Belichick said. “They’re good in all three phases of the game. Coach McDermott has done a great job with that program. They’re tough. They take the ball away. They have a good running game. Tough quarterback. Good skill players. Good in the kicking game. They’re really a solid football team.”‘

‘”It’s really about team defense, it’s not about attacking one guy, you’ve got to attack the whole group. It’s not about stopping one guy. You’ve got to take control of everybody. They do a really good job of coordinating everything,” Belichick said.’

‘”We have some pretty good depth at that position. I feel like all five of our backs have been productive for us and doing what we’ve needed them to do and can make plays for us,” Belichick said. “We can only activate 46 players and take the ones and use the ones that we feel are going to make the biggest impact and will be able to help our team the most to win the game.”‘

‘”I don’t really look into that. Like I said, my job is to focus on winning games and preparing myself and getting this team ready, especially this offense ready to go out there and compete at a high level on Sunday’s. I don’t necessarily put my mind on those comments,” Taylor said.’

‘Stephon’s improved: Buffalo isn’t too fond of Stephon Gilmore. The former Bills cornerback left for New England via free agency. Gilmore got a massive five-year, $65 million deal with $40 million guaranteed. Early in the season when the Pats started 2-2 and their defense looked bad, so did Gilmore. But he doesn’t anymore. In each of the past three games, Gilmore has a pass defended. Last week, Gilmore intercepted Dolphins’ QB Matt Moore twice, but only was awarded one. The second was a combined pick which was given to Duron Harmon instead.’

‘“His ability to extend plays, I would say, is just as concerning or dangerous and tough to defend as him actually pulling the ball down and running with it,” Belichick said, speaking of Taylor’s mobility and how the 28-year-old uses it. “That’s a problem, too. But extending the play and throwing it is, I’d say, as big or probably a bigger problem.”’

‘The Bills need to use deception to create space in the passing game. They utilize play-action liberally, and run a lot of crossers, rub routes, and bunch plays to create separation at the line. Against the Chiefs, a perfect example of what the Bills like to do was a play-action drag to Clay for 33 yards.’

‘”This challenge is this challenge and it’s a hard challenge,” Belichick said. “It’s Taylor, it’s McCoy, it’s Clay, it’s the receivers, it’s a big offensive line, it’s a jumbo tight end, it’s a power running game with a back that can, literally, run the ball from sideline to sideline and make four guys miss in a phone booth. McCoy can take any play and turn it into a play that doesn’t look like any other play you’ve seen before.”‘

‘”This is an outstanding football team,” McDermott said. “Not that the other ones weren’t, it just seems like now with the addition of some other players that they’ve added on the roster, with the addition of (Brandin) Cooks and some of the other players they’ve been able to add the last X amount of months, I think this is a dynamite football team.”‘

‘“It’s a power running game with a back that can literally run the ball from sideline to sideline and make four guys miss in a phone booth,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said when speaking Wednesday of a Buffalo Bills rushing attack that ranks 12th in the NFL heading into Sunday’s game between the two teams at New Era Field in Orchard Park, N.Y. “McCoy can take any play and turn it into a play that doesn’t look like any other play you’ve seen before.”’

‘Taylor isn’t a top-10 quarterback or anything like that, but he does have some traits that could make life difficult for the Patriots’ defense, namely his scrambling ability and the infrequency of his interceptions. (He’s thrown just three all season, the same total as Tom Brady.)’

‘The Patriots are 29-5 against the Bills since Belichick was hired in 2000. As for his 15-2 record at Buffalo, Belichick has more wins at Orchard Park, New York, than any Bills coach since Wade Phillips went 17-7 from 1998-2000.’

‘”It’s incredible what he’s been able to do throughout his career,” said McDermott, who is only three years older than the 40-year-old Brady. “I know not only what he does on the field, (but) what he does off the field, I’m sure, in terms of what I’ve heard, with his preparation, (and) their entire team. There’s a difference between winning and doing the things that lead you to winning. It’s clear the habits that they do on a daily basis, weekly basis, set themselves up for success.”‘

‘”Big challenge, a huge challenge,” head coach Bill Belichick said, going a bit over the top describing Taylor. “This guy is really a good football player, very competitive, smart, tough. He’s got a good feel for the pocket. He’s, obviously, very athletic, hard to tackle, hard to contain. He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s got good balance. He’s a good football player and, like I said, a very competitive guy, so in critical situations he makes a lot of the right decisions and does a lot of the right things. He can extend plays. He’s got a good arm. He’s got good vision down the field, accuracy.”‘

‘”It’s good inside of our building right now,” Bills tackle Kyle Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are focused on our process, our week to week, day to day process of getting better and trying to do what we need to do to win a football game.”‘

‘Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin appeared to take a small step towards returning to the lineup Wednesday when he was seen off to the side of practice working with trainers and running ladder exercises.’

‘The head coach opened up and said that Glenn does not have a timetable — a stark difference from the day-to-day delineation that he’d garnered for weeks on end. Glenn is still dealing with foot and ankle injuries that have plagued him since the spring workouts and has missed a total of five games this season as a result of that.’

‘”I had no idea it was on social media like that, and then everyone was texting and calling me like ‘you, you’re going viral right now,’ and I was like ‘for what? What did I do?’” Jones said. “Then, I saw it, and I don’t know, it was pretty crazy.”‘

‘“Injury-wise, all these guys for the most part are day to day, starting with Kelvin (Benjamin),” said head coach Sean McDermott. “Mike Tolbert, Eddie Yarbrough, Nick O’Leary and John Miller are all day to day and will not practice. Limited will be Jordan Matthewsand Charles Clay.”’

‘In his eight years as defensive coordinator, in Philadelphia and Carolina, McDermott’s defense has only faced the Patriots once – that was November 2013, when Carolina held off New England with a 24-20 win in Charlotte. Tom Brady went 29 for 40 in that game for 296 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.’